Electronic outcry messaging for electronic trading

ABSTRACT

Methods, devices, and systems for facilitation of communication between participants of an electronic marketplace involve receiving a message generated from a market participant and transmitting the message to other market participants. The facilitation also involves receiving responses to the message from the other market participants and transmitting the responses to the message originating market participant such that the transmitted response is imperceptible to the other market participants.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation under 37 C.F.R. 1.53(b) of U.S.application Ser. No. 17/314,407, filed May 7, 2021, now U.S. Pat. No.______, which is a continuation under 37 C.F.R. 1.53(b) of U.S.application Ser. No. 14/454,499, filed Aug. 7, 2014, now U.S. Pat. No.11,030,688, the entirety of all of which are incorporated herein byreference in their entirety and relied upon.

BACKGROUND

A financial instrument trading system, such as a futures exchange,referred to herein also as an “Exchange”, such as the Chicago MercantileExchange Inc. (“CME”), provides a contract market where financialinstruments, for example futures and options on futures, are traded.Futures is a term used to designate all contracts for the purchase orsale of financial instruments or physical commodities for futuredelivery or cash settlement on a commodity futures exchange. A futurescontract is a legally binding agreement to buy or sell a commodity at aspecified price at a predetermined future time. An option is the right,but not the obligation, to sell or buy the underlying instrument (inthis case, a futures contract) at a specified price within a specifiedtime. The commodity to be delivered in fulfillment of the contract, oralternatively the commodity for which the cash market price shalldetermine the final settlement price of the futures contract, is knownas the contract's underlying reference or “underlier.” The terms andconditions of each futures contract are standardized as to thespecification of the contract's underlying reference commodity, thequality of such commodity, quantity, delivery date, and means ofcontract settlement. Cash Settlement is a method of settling a futurescontract whereby the parties effect final settlement when the contractexpires by paying/receiving the loss/gain related to the contract incash, rather than by effecting physical sale and purchase of theunderlying reference commodity at a price determined by the futurescontract, price.

Typically, the Exchange provides for a centralized “clearing house”through which all trades made must be confirmed, matched, and settledeach day until offset or delivered. The clearing house is an adjunct tothe Exchange, and may be an operating division of the Exchange, which isresponsible for settling trading accounts, clearing trades, collectingand maintaining performance bond funds, regulating delivery, andreporting trading data. The essential role of the clearing house is tomitigate credit risk. Clearing is the procedure through which theClearing House becomes buyer to each seller of a futures contract, andseller to each buyer, also referred to as a novation, and assumesresponsibility for protecting buyers and sellers from financial loss dueto breach of contract, by assuring performance on each contract. Aclearing member is a firm qualified to clear trades through the ClearingHouse.

Current financial instrument trading systems allow traders to submitorders and receive confirmations, market data, and other informationelectronically via a network. These “electronic” marketplaces are analternative to pit or open outcry based trading systems whereby thetraders, or their representatives, all physically stand in a designatedlocation, i.e. a trading pit, and trade with each other via oral andhand based communication. Anyone standing in or near the trading pit maybe privy to the trades taking place, i.e. who is trading, what they areoffering to trade (price and quantity), and what ultimately trades.Electronic trading systems attempt to replicate the trading pitenvironment in a marketplace of electronic form. In doing so, electronictrading systems ideally offer an efficient, fair and balanced marketwhere market prices reflect a true consensus of the value of tradedproducts among the market participants, where the intentional orunintentional influence of any one market participant is minimized ifnot eliminated, and where unfair or inequitable advantages with respectto information access are minimized if not eliminated.

Electronic exchanges, while efficient and immediate, do not necessarilyprovide or include the immediate and available communication betweentraders provided by traditional, pit or open outcry based tradingenvironments. For example, electronic exchanges generally do not matchthe price improvement capabilities of an open outcry exchange wherefloor brokers and market makers can handle large and complex ordersthrough in-person or face-to-face communication. Communication delayscan prevent market makers and others from changing their quotes ororders fast enough to reflect market conditions, thus forcing manymarket participants to use ancillary methods of communication, such astelephones, outside the electronic market environment to communicate.This communication external to the trading system is both inefficientand difficult to regulate.

Accordingly, there is a need for an exchange system and method that canprovide real-time interactive communication capabilities for electronicexchanges.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts a system for facilitating communication between marketparticipants.

FIG. 2 depicts an embodiment of the communication module of the systemdepicted in FIG. 1 .

FIG. 3 depicts a block diagram of embodiments for facilitatingcommunication between market participants.

FIG. 4 shows an illustrative embodiment of a general computer system forfacilitating communication between market participants.

FIG. 5 illustrates a generation and transmission of messages andresponses between participants in a communication session for electronicoutcry messaging.

FIG. 6 illustrates a receipt of messages by current forum membersprovided in electronic outcry messaging.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The disclosed embodiments relate to communicative messaging capabilitiesthat allow trading parties, such as market makers, traders and othermarket participants, to communicate within an electronic trading systemand which may allow for more efficient communication before, during andafter trade execution, as well as an ability for the electronic tradingsystem to manage, regulate, log or otherwise track market relatedcommunications for regulatory or other purposes. Further, the disclosedembodiments provide an environment in which market makers may initiateand engage in communication with other market participants via the actof submitting/placing an order/offer within a market, and subsequentlyparticipating in a communication environment initiated thereby. Thecommunication environment may be limited to only participants of thatmarket such that the market maker may communicate and/or negotiate withother participants, also trading in that market, to respond toinquiries, counter offers, and/or other communications of the marketparticipants. The communication environment may facilitate interactivecommunication in real-time regarding markets associated therewith and/orother topics. For example, communications between parties may beconveyed as instantaneously as possible so as to allow substantiallycontemporaneous communication regarding changes in the markets as thosechanges are realized by a trading system. Further, market information(i.e. price, trading volume, etc.) may be provided in an integratedmanner within the communication environment. In this way, an interactivecommunication experience may facilitate the interaction of multiplemarket participants within a single environment to facilitate thegeneration and execution of tradable combinations. The marketparticipants may control the generation and matching of even the mostcomplex offers in an efficient manner that reflects real time marketconditions. Further, the electronic trading system may be coupled withthe communication environment such that messages generated within thecommunication environment may be actionable by a market participantwithin the communication environment to execute actual trading activity.

The following embodiments may facilitate communication between marketparticipants and/or parties to a trade. For example, a trader may post amessage to a forum in which other traders in a particular financialmarket are participants. The other traders may then respond to themessage in the forum such that access to these responses is limited tothe message posting trader, i.e. a participating trader is able to seethe original message but is unable to see responses thereto posted byother participating traders. In this way, negotiations and othercommunication related to market activity may be facilitated whileminimizing message traffic among the participating traders which may,for example, reduce noise and bandwidth consumption. Also, linking sucha forum with an electronic trading system may also allow an electronictrading system to track communications among market participants relatedto trading activity in markets of the electronic trading system.

The following embodiments may relate to electronic message packetscommunicated using any wired and/or wireless communications network,including the internet. The Internet, in particular, is a worldwidenetwork which primarily uses the Transport Control Protocol and InternetProtocol (“TCP/IP”) to permit the exchange of information includingelectronic message packets. At a higher level, the Internet supportsseveral applications protocols including the Hypertext Transfer Protocol(“HTTP”) for facilitating the exchange of HTML/World Wide Web (“WWW”)content, File Transfer Protocol (“FTP”) for the exchange of data files,electronic mail exchange protocols, Telnet for remote computer accessand Usenet (“NNTP” or Network News Transfer Protocol) for thecollaborative sharing and distribution of information. It will beappreciated that the disclosed embodiments may relate to messagescommunicated using the TCP protocol, however the disclosed embodimentsare applicable to messages communicated using many different transportprotocols both now and later developed. For example, the enclosedembodiments may relate to the use of User Datagram Protocol (“UDP”)techniques to communicate messages. Further, chat rooms, or otherconsolidated communication forums may be generated and/or provided forusers based on transmitted and/or received electronic messages. Any chatservices, clients, and/or protocols may be used to generate a forum. Forexample, Adium, Kopete, or other clients and/or protocols may be used.

In an embodiment, trade related messaging capabilities may be integratedwith an over the counter (“OTC”) electronic market facilitating system.OTC markets may facilitate the trading of securities and/or otherderivatives using a dealer network as opposed to a centralized exchange.In such an environment, multiple dealers or market makers may begenerating markets for the trading of products such as simple securitiesand derivatives, or more complex trading products such as interest ratesswaps, credit default swaps, commodities contracts, commodity indexswaps, or any other product. The data relating to trading products, aswell as the trading activity based thereon, may be provided in tradinggrids as a reference to market makers and other market participants toprovide information relating to active and/or current markets. Thetrading grids may involve a specific organization of available orresting orders for the trading products. A trading grid may involve agraphical user interface of products and/or orders such as may be usedwith respect to pricing ladders involving market depth displays, top ofbook displays, or any other type of organization of market data. Thegraphical user interface may be displayed using a computer display ormonitor, such as is described with respect to FIG. 4 . In these markets,market participants may negotiate or otherwise communicate directly witha market participant acting as a market maker with regard to the productbeing offered. As such, communicative messaging capabilities may beparticularly useful in OTC systems as traditionally there is significantcommunication between multiple parties to complete a transaction. In anembodiment, trading grids for products of a specific market may bedisplayed proximate to communication of messaging components thatprovide a communication environment for the markets.

Specific messaging functionality in a communications environment mayfurther facilitate trade matching. In an embodiment, an electronictrading system, such as a system implemented using the computer of FIG.4 , may be configured to display, using the display 414, multipletrading grids relating to markets generated for various products. Forexample, an OTC trading grid may be provided for LN Henry Hub Europeanoptions on natural gas (“NG”). Market makers and other marketparticipants, collectively traders, may focus on a particular product,and monitor a trading grid for this product throughout an active tradingperiod. A communications environment, such as a dedicated communicationforum, chat room, or other communication room involving a consolidatedcommunication environment, may be provided for the traders of aparticular type of product. A chat room, communication environment,forum, or room may be considered any form of synchronous or asynchronousconferencing system or environment. A room may facilitate one-to-manycommunication techniques as well as limitations on the display,distribution, or other transmission of messages provided to the room byparticipants in communication events or sessions using the room. A roommay be implemented using a system, such as the computer 400 of FIG. 4 ,to control a distribution of messages to members or participants in aroom. For example, a room may be configured to allow a one to manymessaging, but limit access or transmission of responses to particularparticipants. As such, a room, or forum, may involve a hybridcombination of one-to-many, one-to-one, or even many-to-somecommunication modes.

The room may allow message generation from any participant in the roomsuch that any trader currently accessing the room may view or otherwiseconsume the message. Alternatively, or in addition thereto, the room maybe configured such that only the message generating trader may viewmessages generated in response to the original message. In this way, atrader may announce, or outcry, an offer to buy or sell a product to alltraders currently accessing the room, but maintain secrecy and controlof information provided in response to the offer during the negotiationprocess. For example, a market making trader may generate a messageindicating an offer to sell one thousand (1000) units of NG at $4.504per unit. Multiple traders currently accessing the room may respond withcounter offers or other communications. For example, a trader maycounter with a message asking if the market making trader would bewilling to sell five hundred (500) units of NG at 4.510 per unit. Othertraders may also provide counteroffers or inquiry messages. In this way,communication relating to trade discussion beyond a mere acceptance ofan offer or a specific trade match based on counteroffers within adefined executable similarity may be facilitated. In an embodiment, onlythe market making trader may be able to view the messages generated inresponse to the original offer. The market making trader may thencommunicate directly with particular traders accessing the room tofinalize and execute a trade.

Another messaging functionality may involve limiting a trader's abilityto view or access messages provided by participants in a room to onlythose messages that were generated during a time when the trader wasactively in the room. For example, a trader may have access to onlythose messages generated after the trader joined or otherwise initiateda participation in the room, and an activity level of the trader in theroom indicates that the trader is consuming messages of the room. Also,sessions of actively accessing a room by a trader may be intermittent orotherwise interrupted by non-active time periods. For example, a tradermay leave a room by actively selecting an option to no longer access aroom, i.e. sign out, or a trader may have a period of inactivity in theroom or system providing the room such that a trader is considereddormant or inactive. A trader may also be considered to leave a room ifthe trader is dormant. For example, a system may detect that the traderhas not performed any interactions with the system for a set period oftime, and as such the trader would be considered dormant. For example, agraphical user interface may not be active on a trader's computerdisplay for a period of time, or a trader may have left the computer fora period of time. As such, a computer system used by the trader mayprovide presence information indicating a presence state for the trader.The presence state may indicate that a trader is considered active ordormant in the room. In another example, a system may actively sendmessages, or ping, a trader to determine if the trader is active.Further, if a trader leaves the room and returns at a later time, thetrader would not be able to view messages generated in the room duringthe trader's absence.

The communications environment of the room may be monitored such that itwould be known which traders had access to what messages during atrading period. For example, it could be determined if a particulartrader had specific access to information that was provided in a room.The trader could be logged-out, dormant, or otherwise not accessingmessages of a room and this lack of access could be noted. Further,participant messaging activity may be correlated with participantpresence data. For example, participant presence data may indicating aparticular participant's presence state and this state may be associatedwith messages. Further, messages may be associated with data indicativeof participants that had a presence state indicated as active when themessage was transmitted or otherwise provided. A log of this and otheractivity may be created, archived, and provided to officials orregulatory agencies if requested. The log may involve any interval forreporting. For example, a log may involve activity for a current day andmay be stored in an archive with similar logs of other days.

Another messaging functionality may involve integrating communicativemessaging with an electronic trading system such that contact methodsand information for traders creating bids or offers that are currentlypending, or resting on an offer book. The communication environment maybe provided access to this information, and a message may be generatedby a trader within the communication environment by selecting the offerin the electronic trading system. The communication environment mayitself be generated as a window or box within or external to a userinterface of the electronic trading system. Further, the message may begenerated in the communication environment as coupled with theelectronic trading system and sent to external systems such as anexternal email or messaging system if the contact information for thecreating trader indicates these contact methods.

Another messaging functionality may involve group or blast messaging.For example, a trader currently participating or active in a particularmarket may select or identify a group of recipients for a messagerelating to the status of the market. Such a message for example may beautomatically generated based on market information from the electronictrading system, such as a current best-bid-offer (“BBO”) for a productin the market. In an embodiment, the message may be sent tonon-participants in the market. For example, a trader in the marketacting as a broker for a multiple individual investors may choose togenerate such a message and have it sent to a list of individualinvestors whose contact information is stored as a group ofnon-participants in the market. Further a trader may select a group ofcontacts to whom the message is to be sent from multiple groups ofcontacts. In this way, a broker or trader may provide current marketinformation to non-participants in an efficient manner to solicitinterest in the market. Such blast messaging may also apply to marketparticipants.

In an embodiment, a private network communication forum or room may begenerated or initiated by a participant in an electronic marketplace.The participant may be able to specify other participants that haveaccess to the room by reference to a contact list, and link the room toa particular electronic market. The room may be operational allow a roomparticipant to send a message to all other room participants. Further,the room may be operational to allow only the message sender may viewany responses provided to the message.

For example, a broker may create a room with all of the broker'scustomers who trade in a particular product, such as near-term LNoptions (“LN”). The broker may initiate the generation of a trading gridwith information relating to a LN market such as price and/or offers forsale or purchase of LN products. The broker may be particularlyinterested in options executable within a four month window. The brokermay generate a message within or in relation to the trading grid thatmay be sent to a contact list of the broker's customers. The message mayappear in a window associated with the trading grid as accessed by thebroker and customers individually. Such a window presented in a userinterface for the broker may further display all the responses to themessage generated by the customers, whereas a similar window presentedto the customers in a user interface may only display the originalmessage and responses generated by the particular customer to which thewindow is being displayed.

In another example, a trader may generate a room for all of the trader'scustomers or other market participants who deal in a particular kind ofproduct, such as long-dated LN options. The trader may create, within agraphical user interface, a trading grid, specific to the long-dated LNoptions, such that the trading grid includes communicative messagingcapability using a chat room. The trader may enter a message into thechat room requesting quotes for products associated with products of thetrading grid. The trader may then receive responses to the message thatinclude quotes for products generated by other members of the chat room.Further, the trader may be the only member of the chat room that is ableto see the responses in the chat room. Contrarily, a chat room membergenerating a particular response may also be able to view the particularresponse.

Also, a trading grid may display markets for specific products with eachmarket often having a centralized limit order book containing multiplebids and/or offers. Each bid and offer may be generated or backed by amarket participant that has recorded contact information with anelectronic exchange that facilitates market activity and the generationof the trading grids. The trading grid may then be coupled withcommunication functionality such that a market participant may select abid or offer within a graphical user interface of the trading grid and acommunication session may be generated with the market participant thatgenerated the offer or bid. This communication session may be aone-to-one communication session using instant messaging functionalityprovided in association with the trading grid. A graphical window forthe communication session may appear as a part of the trading gridgraphical user interface, or separate from the trading grid graphicaluser interface. For example, a broker may view a trading grid displayinga market for May 2014 LN options. The broker may click on the best bidavailable in the trading grid, or alternatively enter a designatedkeyboard shortcut, and a one-to-one chat window may be generated in thegraphical user interface connecting the broker with a bid backer, i.e.,a market maker. The broker may then communicate directly with the bidbacker. The original bid may have involved 20 contracts, but the brokermay inquire using the one-to-one chat window whether the bid backer iswilling or able to trade 50 contracts instead of the displayed 20contracts. The bid backer may also provide an affirmative response usingthe chat window. Further, the bid backer's response may be actionablewithin an electronic market such that the broker may be able to executethe 50 contract trade by triggering an action mechanism contained in themessage. For example, the response message may include a button thatindicates a 50 contract trade will be executed upon selection of thebutton by the broker.

Further, communication capability may be provided such that a marketparticipant may communicate with not only active market participantssuch as market participants currently associated or participating in aparticular chat room, but also a wider or different communicationaudience. For example, a particular trading grid may be selected and amessage containing market information of the trading grid may begenerated and transmitted to any recipient, such as a list of recipientshaving various communication modes of contact. The modes of contact mayinclude e-mail, short message service (“SMS”), or any other mode ofcontact or communication. In an embodiment, a best-bid-offer (“BBO”) ofthe market, as displayed in the trading grid, is included in such amessage. For example, a broker may select a particular product in atrading grid. In response to the selection, a message may be generatedthat includes the BBO of the market for the selected product at thattime. The message may then be transmitted to a list of contacts havingvarious contact modes. Further, the generated message may be editableprior to transmission. For example, the message may initially read “LNDec14 5.25 Straddle 2.20/2.35 10X10”, and the broker may edit themessage to read “LN Dec14 5.25 Straddle 2.20/2.35 paper offer”.

In accordance with aspects of the disclosure, systems and methods aredisclosed for electronic outcry messaging for electronic trading. Thedisclosed embodiments are preferably implemented with computer devicesand computer networks, such as those described with respect to FIG. 4 ,that allow users, e.g. market participants, to exchange information. Itwill be appreciated that the plurality of entities utilizing thedisclosed embodiments, e.g. the market participants, may be referred toby other nomenclature reflecting the role that the particular entity isperforming with respect to the disclosed embodiments and that a givenentity may perform more than one role depending upon the implementationand the nature of the particular transaction being undertaken, as wellas the entity's contractual and/or legal relationship with anothermarket participant and/or the exchange.

An exemplary trading network environment for implementing trading and/orcommunication systems and methods is shown in FIG. 1 . An exchangecomputer system 100 receives orders and transmits market data related toorders and trades to users, such as via wide area network 126 and/orlocal area network 124 and computer devices 114, 116, 118, 120 and 122,as will be described below, coupled with the exchange computer system100. Also, the exchange computer system 100 may include a communicationmodule 140 that may facilitate messaging or other communication betweenthe market maker 130 and/or the computer devices 114, 116, 118, 120 and122 via wide area network 126 and/or local area network 124.

Herein, the phrase “coupled with” is defined to mean directly connectedto or indirectly connected through one or more intermediate components.Such intermediate components may include both hardware and softwarebased components. Further, to clarify the use in the pending claims andto hereby provide notice to the public, the phrases “at least one of<A>, <B>, . . . and <N>” or “at least one of <A>, <B>, . . . <N>, orcombinations thereof” are defined by the Applicant in the broadestsense, superseding any other implied definitions herebefore orhereinafter unless expressly asserted by the Applicant to the contrary,to mean one or more elements selected from the group comprising A, B, .. . and N, that is to say, any combination of one or more of theelements A, B, . . . or N including any one element alone or incombination with one or more of the other elements which may alsoinclude, in combination, additional elements not listed.

The exchange computer system 100 may be implemented with one or moremainframe, desktop or other computers, such as the computer 400described below with respect to FIG. 4 . A user database 102 may beprovided which includes information identifying traders and other usersof exchange computer system 100, such as account numbers or identifiers,user names, passwords, a preferred contact method, and contactinformation for the preferred contact method. An account data module 104may be provided which may process account information that may be usedduring trades. A match engine module 106 may be included to match bidand offer prices and may be implemented with software that executes oneor more algorithms for matching bids and offers. A trade database 108may be included to store information identifying trades and descriptionsof trades. In particular, a trade database may store informationidentifying the time that a trade took place and the contract price. Anorder book module 110 may be included to compute or otherwise determinecurrent bid and offer prices. A market data module 112 may be includedto collect market data and prepare the data for transmission to users. Arisk management module 134 may be included to compute and determine auser's risk utilization in relation to the user's defined riskthresholds. An order processing module 136 may be included to decomposedelta based and bulk order types for processing by the order book module110 and/or match engine module 106. A communication module 140 may beincluded to, among other things, facilitate communication betweentraders and/or market makers as well as external contacts of tradersand/or market makers. It will be appreciated that concurrent processinglimits may be defined by or imposed separately or in combination, as wasdescribed above, on one or more of the trading system components,including the user database 102, the account data module 104, the matchengine module 106, the trade database 108, the order book module 110,the market data module 112, the risk management module 134, the orderprocessing module 136, or other component of the exchange computersystem 100.

In an embodiment, the communication module 140 may include a chat roomor other consolidated communication forum membership managementcomponent configured to receive requests from market participants tojoin or leave the consolidated communication forum. The membershipmanagement component may also be configured to establish thecommunication forum based on the received request to join, and manage amembership of the communication forum base on the received requests tojoin or leave the communication forum.

The communication module 140 may also include a message relay ormanagement component that is configured to receive a message generatedby a market participant member of the communication forum, transmit themessage to other market participant members of the communication forum,and receive at least one response to the message, the at least oneresponse generated by a particular participant of the other marketparticipant members. The message relay or management component may alsobe configured to transmit the at least one response to the market makersuch that the transmitted response is imperceptible to the other marketparticipants aside from the particular participant.

The trading and communication network environment shown in FIG. 1includes exemplary computer devices 114, 116, 118, 120 and 122 whichdepict different exemplary methods or media by which a computer devicemay be coupled with the exchange computer system 100 or by which a usermay communicate, e.g. send and receive, trade or other informationtherewith. It will be appreciated that the types of computer devicesdeployed by traders and the methods and media by which they communicatewith the exchange computer system 100 is implementation dependent andmay vary and that not all of the depicted computer devices and/ormeans/media of communication may be used and that other computer devicesand/or means/media of communications, now available or later developedmay be used. Each computer device, which may comprise a computer 400described in more detail below with respect to FIG. 4 , may include acentral processor that controls the overall operation of the computerand a system bus that connects the central processor to one or moreconventional components, such as a network card or modem. Each computerdevice may also include a variety of interface units and drives forreading and writing data or files and communicating with other computerdevices and with the exchange computer system 100. Depending on the typeof computer device, a user can interact with the computer with akeyboard, pointing device, microphone, pen device or other input devicenow available or later developed.

An exemplary computer device 114 is shown directly connected to exchangecomputer system 100, such as via a T1 line, a common local area network(LAN) or other wired and/or wireless medium for connecting computerdevices, such as the network 420 shown in FIG. 4 and described belowwith respect thereto. The exemplary computer device 114 is further shownconnected to a radio 132. The user of radio 132, which may include acellular telephone, smart phone, or other wireless proprietary and/ornon-proprietary device, may be a trader or exchange employee. The radiouser may transmit orders or other information to the exemplary computerdevice 114 or a user thereof. The user of the exemplary computer device114, or the exemplary computer device 114 alone and/or autonomously, maythen transmit the trade or other information to the exchange computersystem 100.

Exemplary computer devices 116 and 118 are coupled with a local areanetwork (“LAN”) 124 which may be configured in one or more of thewell-known LAN topologies, e.g. star, daisy chain, etc., and may use avariety of different protocols, such as Ethernet, TCP/IP, etc. Theexemplary computer devices 116 and 118 may communicate with each otherand with other computer and other devices which are coupled with the LAN124. Computer and other devices may be coupled with the LAN 124 viatwisted pair wires, coaxial cable, fiber optics or other wired orwireless media. As shown in FIG. 1 , an exemplary wireless personaldigital assistant device (“PDA”) 122, such as a mobile telephone, tabletbased compute device, or other wireless device, may communicate with theLAN 124 and/or the Internet 126 via radio waves, such as via WiFi,Bluetooth and/or a cellular telephone based data communicationsprotocol. PDA 122 may also communicate with exchange computer system 100via a conventional wireless hub 128.

FIG. 1 also shows the LAN 124 coupled with a wide area network (“WAN”)126 which may be comprised of one or more public or private wired orwireless networks. In one embodiment, the WAN 126 includes the Internet126. The LAN 124 may include a router to connect LAN 124 to the Internet126. Exemplary computer device 120 is shown coupled directly to theInternet 126, such as via a modem, DSL line, satellite dish or any otherdevice for connecting a computer device to the Internet 126 via aservice provider therefore as is known. LAN 124 and/or WAN 126 may bethe same as the network 420 shown in FIG. 4 and described below withrespect thereto.

As was described above, the users of the exchange computer system 100may include one or more market makers 130 which may maintain a market byproviding constant bid and offer prices for a derivative or security tothe exchange computer system 100, such as via one of the exemplarycomputer devices depicted. The exchange computer system 100 may alsoexchange information with other trade engines, such as trade engine 138.One skilled in the art will appreciate that numerous additionalcomputers and systems may be coupled to exchange computer system 100.Such computers and systems may include clearing, regulatory and feesystems.

The operations of computer devices and systems shown in FIG. 1 may becontrolled by computer-executable instructions stored on anon-transitory computer-readable medium. For example, the exemplarycomputer device 116 may include computer-executable instructions forreceiving order information from a user and transmitting that orderinformation to exchange computer system 100. In another example, theexemplary computer device 118 may include computer-executableinstructions for receiving market data from exchange computer system 100and displaying that information to a user.

Of course, numerous additional servers, computers, handheld devices,personal digital assistants, telephones and other devices may also beconnected to exchange computer system 100. Moreover, one skilled in theart will appreciate that the topology shown in FIG. 1 is merely anexample and that the components shown in FIG. 1 may include othercomponents not shown and be connected by numerous alternativetopologies.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the Exchange computer system 100 further includes amessage management module 140 which may implement, in conjunction withthe market data module 112, the disclosed mechanisms for managing marketmessages containing financial data sent between an exchange and/or aplurality of market participants. However, as was discussed above, thedisclosed mechanisms may be implemented at any logical and/or physicalpoint(s) through which the relevant message traffic, and responsesthereto, flows or is otherwise accessible, including one or more gatewaydevices, modems, the computers or terminals of one or more traders, etc.

FIG. 2 depicts a block diagram of a communication module 140 accordingto one embodiment, which in an exemplary implementation, is implementedas part of the exchange computer system 100 described above.

The embodiments described herein utilize trade related messages such asmass quote messages, individual order messages, cancellation messages,as well as communicative messaging between parties or entities to tradeactivity. The trading entity may have one or multiple trading terminalsassociated with the session. Furthermore, the financial instruments maybe financial derivative products. Derivative products may includefutures contracts, options on futures contracts, futures contracts thatare functions of or related to other futures contracts, swaps,swaptions, or other financial instruments that have their price relatedto or derived from an underlying product, security, commodity, equity,index, or interest rate product. In one embodiment, the orders are foroptions contracts that belong to a common option class. Orders may alsobe for baskets, quadrants, other combinations of financial instruments,etc. The option contracts may have a plurality of strike prices and/orcomprise put and call contracts. A mass quote message may be received atan exchange. As used herein, an exchange 100 includes a place or systemthat receives and/or executes orders.

FIG. 2 also shows a system 200 for management of communication of marketand communicative messages to a plurality of market participants via anetwork 214 which, as described above, may be the network 420 describedbelow or network 124 or 126 described above, which may be implemented asa communication module 140 as described above. The system 200 mayinvolve functionality to facilitate the organization and management ofcommunicative messages exchanged between trading parties or participantsof a market. It will be appreciated that the disclosed embodiments maybe applicable to other types of messages depending upon theimplementation. Further, the messages may comprise one or more datapackets, datagrams or other collection of data formatted, arrangedconfigured and/or packaged in a particular one or more protocols, e.g.the FIX protocol, TCP/IP, Ethernet, etc., suitable for transmission viaa network 214 as was described, such as the message format and/orprotocols described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,831,491, 8,745,147, and U.S.Patent Publication No. 2005/0096999 A1, all of which are incorporated byreference herein in their entirety. Further, the disclosed market andcommunicative message management system may be implemented using an openmessage standard implementation, such as FIX or FIX/FAST, by anExchange-provided API, or any combination thereof.

The system 200 includes a processor 202 and a memory 204 coupledtherewith which may be implemented as processor 402 and memory 404 asdescribed below with respect to FIG. 4 . The system 200 further includesa chat room or other consolidated communication forum membershipmanagement logic 206 stored in the memory 204 and executable by theprocessor 202 to receive requests from market participants to join orleave the consolidated communication forum. The requests to join orleave the consolidated communication forum may be considered requests tono longer receive copies of messages submitted to the forum. Themembership management logic 206 may also be executable by the processor202 to establish the communication forum based on the received requestto join, and manage a membership of the communication forum base on thereceived requests to join or leave the communication forum.

The communication module 140 may also include a message relay ormanagement logic 208 that is stored in the memory 204 and executable bythe processor 202 to receive a message generated by a market participantmember of the communication forum, transmit the message to other marketparticipant members of the communication forum, and receive at least oneresponse to the message, the at least one response generated by aparticular participant of the other market participant members. Themessage relay or management logic 208 may also be configured to transmitthe at least one response to the market maker such that the transmittedresponse is imperceptible to the subset of market participants otherthan the particular participant that received the message. The messagerelay and/or management logic 208 may be further configured to functionin correlation with the room participant and/or management logic 206 toprovide that messages and responses transmitted during a time between amarket participant's leaving and re-entry to a forum or room arewithheld from the market participant even after re-entry to the forumand/or room of the market participant.

In an embodiment, the communication module 140 may also include marketcoupling logic 212 stored in the memory 204 and executable by theprocessor 202 to couple the communication module 140 with electronicmarkets. The market coupling logic 212 may be configured to trigger themessage management logic 208 to generate a message that relates to anoffer to buy or sell a product in an electronic market. Further, themarket coupling logic 212 may be configured to provide data relating tothe electronic market to the message management logic 208 such that themessage may contain data relating to the electronic market. Also, themarket coupling logic 212 may provide data relating to an electronicmarket to the room management logic 206 such that particular anelectronic forum or room may be specifically coupled to a particularelectronic market for a product. For example, the message may containdata descriptive of the offer to buy or sell the product such as textindicating a price associated with the product or a best-bid-offer priceof the product. Also, the market coupling logic 212 may be configured tocause the message or content of the message to be actionable on theelectronic exchange. For example, a portion of text of a message may beformatted so as to be selectable by a trader or market participant thatreceives the message. The selection of the text may trigger an action inthe electronic marketplace. For example, a message may recite “accept”and by selecting the “accept” text, a market participant accepts anoffer to buy or sell associated with the message. Further, theactionable text may be included with other text which is descriptive ofthe trade or serves other communication purposes, but is not actionable.

In an embodiment, the communication module may also includecommunication tracking logic 210 stored in the memory 204 and executableby the processor 202 to track the messaging activity of the messagerelay and/or management logic 208. The communication tracking logic 210may be configured to associate messages and responses with particularmarket participants that had access to the messages or responses. Forexample, market participants that were sent transmissions of themessages or responses would be associated with the messages orresponses. Further, the communication tracking logic may also beconfigured to generate a log or other output providing the associationsbetween messages and market participants.

FIG. 3 depicts a flow chart showing operation of the system 200 of FIG.2 . In particular FIG. 3 shows a computer implemented method formanaging communication between a plurality of market participants via anetwork 214. The operation includes receiving requests from a subset ofa set of the plurality of market participants to join a consolidatedcommunication forum (Block 310), establishing the consolidatedcommunication forum with the subset of the plurality of marketparticipants (Block 320), receiving a message generated by a marketparticipant of the subset of market participants (Block 330),transmitting the message to other market participants of the subset ofthe plurality of market participants (Block 340), receiving at least oneresponse to the message, the at least one response generated by aparticular participant of the other market participants (Block 350), andtransmitting the at least one response to the market participant suchthat the transmitted response is imperceptible to the subset of marketparticipants other than the particular participant (Block 360).Additional, different, or fewer indicated acts may be provided. Theindicated acts may be performed in the order shown or other orders. Theindicated acts may also be repeated. Further, it may be noted that asubset of the set of the plurality of market participants may include anumber of the set of market participants up to and including all of theset of market participants.

An embodiment involves receiving (Block 310) a requests to join a forum.The forum may be a chat room or other consolidated communication foruminvolving one-to-many communication functionality. The requests may bereceived from any individual or system. For example, the requests may beprovided by traders or market participants of an electronic market. Themarket participants may be a subset of a number of market participantsparticipating in electronic markets. Further, the requests may begenerated using any system. For example, the requests may be generatedby embodiments involving the general computer system 400 of FIG. 4 , andtransmitted using the network 420. The requests may be processed and/orgraded according to criteria or requirements for admission to the forum.For example, admission to the forum may require that a requestor is amarket participant in a particular electronic market for a particularproduct. In an embodiment, the forum may be associated with anelectronic market established for a product such as a financial productor derivative thereof. A request to join the forum may be generated,transmitted, and/or received in response to selection of arepresentation of the market in a user interface. For example, a usersuch as a trader or market participant may select a button, ordesignated screen area, within a user interface displaying data relatedto the market. The selection of the button may trigger a generation,transmission, and/or receipt of a request to join a forum based on themarket. In an embodiment, a forum may involve a collection of membersthat receive copies of messages submitted by other members of the forum.Further, the request may involve any data indicative of an individualaccepting an invitation, or indicating a desire, to join the forum.

A forum may be established (Block 320). The forum may be establishedwith any membership. For example, the forum may be established with asubset of market participants associated with the requests received tojoin the forum (Block 310). As such, the membership of the forum may beconsidered to be the subset of market participants. The forum may beestablished using any services, clients, and/or protocols. For example,Adium,

Kopete, or other clients and/or protocols may be used. In an embodiment,a forum may be a basic collection of electronic contact information formembers. In an embodiment, a forum may involve a communal presentationof messages and/or other communications provided by members. Further,the forum may contain rules and/or other restrictions on the ability ofmembers to communicate within the forum. For example, some messages inthe forum may be viewable by all members of the forum, whereas othermessages in the forum may be viewable only by particular members of theforum.

Further, requests to leave a forum may also be received. Establishing aforum (Block 320) may involve managing a membership of a forum based onreceived requests to join and/or leave the forum. Also, membership ofthe forum may be tracked over time and a log may be generated thatindicates the membership of the forum at different times. In anembodiment, a participant in the forum may only have access to messages,or other communications, that were provided to the forum during the timethe participant was a member of the forum. For example, a member mayjoin the forum for a first period of time, leave the forum for a secondperiod of time, and re-join the forum for a third period of time. Themember may then have access to messages received or transmitted from theforum during the first and third period of time, but the messagesreceived or transmitted during the second period of time are withheldfrom the member such that the messages are invisible or otherwiseimperceptible to the member.

As indicated above, the forum may involve a set of operational rules orcharacteristics. The characteristics may be configurable by an initiatoror administrator of the forum. Characteristics may involve anycharacteristic related to the operation or establishment of the forum.For example, a forum may be established with a singular forumadministrator which solely has access to control forum configurations. Aforum may also be established with multiple forum administrators. Also,a forum may control access to the forum. For example, only the forumadministrator may invite or allow membership in the forum. Further, aforum may involve restrictions on IP addresses or domains of forummembers. For example, a forum may be established that only allowsmembers sharing a same IP address or domain. In another example, membershaving an IP address or domain from a list of specific IP addresses ordomains may be allowed as members in the forum. In addition,characteristics may limit participation in a forum based on operationalroles of forum members. For example, roles may be associated withmembers, and members having identified conflicting roles may be excludedfrom the forum. For example, a banker will have a conflicting role to aresearch analyst. In another example, a forum may allow or excludemembers having specific roles. Also, characteristics may involve theability to copy text of the forum and the ability to paste text into theforum. In an embodiment, the ability to copy and paste text in a forummay be eliminated or otherwise restricted. Also, a forum may berestricted such that a forum is not persistent. For example, a forum maybe allowed to serve a communication purpose only during active tradingperiods of associated markets. Also, a forum may become a read onlyforum if an administrator is not currently active in the forum. In anembodiment, a market participant may cause a forum to be generated withthe market participant as the administrator of the forum. The forum mayhave characteristics such that the administrator can view all messagesin the forum, but the other members of the forum may only viewparticular message, such as messages from the administrator. Forexample, any responses to a message from an administrator may not beseen by other members of the forum. Also, existence of forum members inthe forum besides the administrator may be hidden from other forummembers.

Further, administrative super status may be provided on a system levelsuch that a super administrator may be able to access all current andpreviously generated forums. This access may not be apparent to forummembers. For example, a super administrator will not be listed in a listof forum members provided to forum members during an active forum.Further, a super administrator may not have the entry or exit of a roomnoted for member participants. However, super administrator access maybe noted in logs of forum membership or participation. Further, thesuper administrator may be notified of all forum requests or forumgeneration events. Such a notification may involve a time, date, forumname, forum generators name or other identification, identification offorum invitees, as well as source IP and/or network name of the forumgenerator.

A message may be received (Block 330) from a message originator. Themessage may be originated or generated by a member of a forum. Forexample, the message may be generated by a market participant of asubset of market participants for which a forum has been established.The message may be received by a communication module 140 of an exchangecomputer system 100 as is described with respect to FIG. 1 .

The message may be an unsolicited message. For example, the message maybe a request, a statement or otherwise a message having no associationwith another message. In such an instance, an association may be bysubject to or created when a user specifically replies to a message. Forexample, a response received (Block 350) that are responsive to themessage may be associated with that message. The association may beexplicit and involve specific code or text forming the associationbetween the message and the response. For example, a message may includea specific combination of characters that will be copied into anyreplies to the message. Also, a message may have an implied associationwith another message based on a similarity of text or other data of themessage.

The message may relate to an offer to buy or sell a product in anelectronic marketplace. For example, the message may contain datadescriptive of the offer to buy or sell the product. Further, themessage may involve text indicating a price, such as a best-bid-offer(“BBO”) price for the product. Also, the message may be generated inresponse to a selection of the offer. For example, a user interface maypresent a representation of the offer, and a market participant, such asa member of the forum, may select the representation of the offer, thustriggering the generation of the message relating to the offer. Asindicated above, such generated message may involve data relating to theoffer that was selected. The message may then be transmitted such thatthe message is received by a system in which the forum is established.

In an embodiment, the message may be actionable in an electronicmarketplace. For example, the message may contain a link or othertrigger configured to execute a set of commands when selected. Thecommands may involve executing a trade or other market activity. Forexample, the commands may involve accepting an offer upon which themessage was based or associated.

The received message may be transmitted (Block 340) to recipients. In anembodiment, the message may be transmitted to members of the forum. Forexample, the message may be transmitted to other market participants ofthe subset of market participants. The other market participants may beall the members of the forum, or any number of the members of the forumsuch as a selected group of forum members.

In an embodiment, the message may be generated by a message originatorin an attempt to solicit interest in a product or offer in an electronicmarketplace. For example, a market participant may generate and submit amessage to a forum referencing an offer indicating that they wish tosell a product at a certain price. The message may be received by theforum, and transmitted to the other members of the forum by variousmethods including posting to a communal message board or chat room ofthe forum.

Further, in an embodiment the message may be transmitted to otherrecipients that are not members of the forum. For example, the messagemay be transmitted to a group not included in the subset of marketparticipants. This group may involve a collection of recipientsspecified by the originator of the message. Transmitting to recipientsin this way may involve using the same protocols or standardsestablished for the forum, or different protocols or standards. Forexample, the message may be transmitted to non-forum members using ane-mail protocol. In an embodiment, a message may be generated by amarket participant based on an order to buy or sell a product in theelectronic marketplace. That message may be transmitted to a group ofnon-forum member recipients, or a combination of forum members andnon-forum member recipients. Such group or blast communication mayinvolve an attempt by the message originator to solicit interest in aproduct, market, and/or forum.

Responses to the message may be received (Block 350). The responses maybe formatted as messages like the original message. The responses may begenerated by recipients of the transmitted message (Block 340). Forexample, the responses may involve counter offers, or offers tonegotiate with the message originator. In an embodiment, the responsesmay be actionable, similar to the original message as described above.For example, a counteroffer may be provided in the response, and a trademay be executed in an electronic marketplace by the selection of part ofthe text in the message.

The responses may be transmitted (Block 360) to the message originator.The responses may be transmitted to the message originator in a mannerproviding that the transmitted response is imperceptible to otherrecipients of the original message, besides a particular originator of aresponse. The response may be transmitted only to the message originatorsuch that the message originator is the singular participant able toread or otherwise consume the message. For example, while the originalmessage may be posted in a communal message board for the forum (Block340) including permissions or rules allowing for all forum members toaccess, responses may be posted to the same message board, but havingdifferent permissions or rules such that only the message originator andthe response originator may view the response. Other methods oftransmission may also be provided. For example, responses may betransmitted to the message originator using interactive dialog boxessuch that a particular one-to-one communication session is establishedwith the response originator. Similarly, in an embodiment, responses toan unsolicited message may only be provided to the generator of anunsolicited message to which the response is a responsive message.

Also, messages and responses may be associated with recipients such thatthose having access to the content of messages may be recorded. Forexample, the message referenced above may be associated with the othermarket participants that received the message, as well as the messageoriginator. In an embodiment, these associations may allow for a log tobe generated for the messages and/or responses provided in or related tothe forum. The log may indicate who had access to what informationrelating to a financial market associated with the forum at what time.

FIG. 5 illustrates the generation and transmission of messages andresponses between participants in a communication session for electronicoutcry messaging. The electronic outcry messaging may involve acommunication module 540, which may involve the communication module 140as shown in FIG. 1 . In an embodiment, the communication module 540 mayinvolve a general messaging system or communication forum not coupled toan electronic market. The communication module 540 may involve a list ofparticipants that will receive copies of messages transmitted orotherwise provided to the communication module 540. The communicationmodule may involve a group of participants of a communication sessionwhich may include a message originator 560A as well as otherparticipants 560.

In an embodiment, a message originator 560A may generate a message. Themessage may be generated using the communication module 540, or remotelyby the message originator 560A and provided to the communication module540 through a transmission or other techniques. The communication forum540 may then transmit copies of the message to particular participants560B-F, of the other participants 560. The particular participants560B-Fmay all receive the message and read or otherwise consume themessage. Several of the particular participants 560D, 560F may choose toprovide a message responsive to the original message, i.e. a response.The particular participants 560D, 560F may generate individualresponsive messages and submit the responsive messages to thecommunication module 540. Upon receiving the responsive message thecommunication module 540 may be configured to transmit the responsivemessage to the original message originator 560A. In an embodiment, themessage originator 560A may be the only participant of the communicationsession that will receive a copy of the received responsive messages.Further, the message originator 560A may read or otherwise consume theresponsive messages, then choose to provide an additional response toone of the particular participants 560F. As such, the message originator560A may generate a response to the responsive message, and provide theresponsive message to the communication module 540. The communicationmodule 540 may then transmit the response to the particular participant560F. In an embodiment, the particular participant 560F may be the onlyother participant 560 that receives the response from the messageoriginator 560A.

In an embodiment, the communication module 540 may facilitate thedistribution of messages and responses through the establishment of aforum or chat room that transmits messages based on a set of rulesconfigured to control access to communication between the messageoriginator 560A and the other participants 560 in the communicationsession, or forum. For example, the message originator may initiate thecreation of a forum using the communication module 540. The messageoriginator 560A may then cause the communication module to transmit ordistribute invitations to join the forum to particular participants 561,560D, 563, 564, 560F that the message originator 560A selects. Theinvitations may be considered invitations to participate in the exchangeof messages and message responses between the message originator 560A,as well as other participants 560. The particular participants 560B-F,may return accepted requests to the communication module 540. Uponreceipt of the accepted requests, the communication module 540 mayestablish the forum with a forum membership including the messageoriginator 560A and the other participants 560 that have accepted theinvitation to join the forum.

Further, the set of rules configured to control access to communicationbetween the forum members may be designated or selected by the messageoriginator 560A from collection of potential rules for the forum. Forexample, as indicated above, the message originator 560A may establish arule set that allows a message originator 560A to send a message to allof the other participants 560, but any responses to the message willonly be provided to the message originator 560A.

Other administrative rules may also be in place as established by thecommunication module 540, or an administrator of the communicationmodule 540. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 6 , a member 560E mayhave access to only the messages and responses provided while the memberis currently and/or actively accessing a forum. Any messages and/orresponses sent when the member 560E is not currently and/or activelyaccessing a forum will not be viewable by the member, but may beviewable to other members that were accessing the forum during the othermember's absence. For example, the communication module 540 may nottransmit the message to the member before or after the member 560Erejoins the forum.

Also, the communication module 540 may have rules configured to allow alog of all members that were provided transmissions and/or other accessto the messages and/or responses of the forum. For example, a log wouldindicate that the message originator 560A and the other participants 560had access to the information of the original message. However, a logwould indicate that a particular participant 560D and the messageoriginator 560A had access to a response to the original message. Such alog may operate for a specific time period, or as long as the forum isactive.

The communication module 540 may also involve a set of rules to controland/or track membership in a forum as illustrated in FIG. 6 . In anembodiment, a participant 560A may initiate a forum using thecommunication module 540. Initiating a forum may involve any activityoperational to trigger the communication module 540 to establish a setof communication rules for members of a forum, and generate and transmitinvitations for participants 560B-F to become members of the forum. Tobecome members, the participants 560B-F may accept the invitationtransmitted by the communication module, or perform some other act suchthat the communication module 540 receives data indicating that theparticipants 560B-F would like to join the forum. Subsequently, one ofthe participants 560E may leave the forum. Leaving the forum may involvean active submission or act by the participant 560E indicating that theparticipant 560E does not want to receive messages from the forum, oralternatively, a lack of activity may indicate that the participant 560Ehas gone dormant in the forum, and as such has left the forum. Thecommunication module 540 may be further configured to subsequently allowthe participant 560E to rejoin the forum. The rejoining may be an activerequest from the participant, or may be an indication of activity of theparticipant that indicates that the participant 560E is no longerdormant. Further, participants 560 may have access to messages generatedin the forum only if the participants were participating or active atthe time the messages are generated. In an embodiment, a participant mayjoin, leave, and re-join a forum. As such, the participant may view, orhave transmitted, messages generated in the forum during a time periodfrom joining to leaving, and from re-joining until any subsequentleaving of the forum, but not during the time period from leaving torejoining.

In an alternate embodiment, participants 560 may not need to be invitedto join a forum. For example, participants 560 may provide a request tojoin the forum to the communication module 540 to join the forum whereinthe request was not solicited by another participant 560A.

Referring to FIG. 4 , an illustrative embodiment of a general computersystem 400 is shown. The computer system 400 can include a set ofinstructions that can be executed to cause the computer system 400 toperform any one or more of the methods or computer based functionsdisclosed herein. The computer system 400 may operate as a standalonedevice or may be connected, e.g., using a network, to other computersystems or peripheral devices. Any of the components discussed above,such as the processor 202, may be a computer system 400 or a componentin the computer system 400. The computer system 400 may implementembodiments for facilitation of deterministic management of electronicmessage packets.

In a networked deployment, the computer system 400 may operate in thecapacity of a server or as a client user computer in a client-serveruser network environment, or as a peer computer system in a peer-to-peer(or distributed) network environment. The computer system 400 can alsobe implemented as or incorporated into various devices, such as apersonal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a personaldigital assistant (PDA), a mobile device, a palmtop computer, a laptopcomputer, a desktop computer, a communications device, a wirelesstelephone, a land-line telephone, a control system, a camera, a scanner,a facsimile machine, a printer, a pager, a personal trusted device, aweb appliance, a network router, switch or bridge, or any other machinecapable of executing a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise)that specify actions to be taken by that machine. In a particularembodiment, the computer system 400 can be implemented using electronicdevices that provide voice, video or data communication. Further, whilea single computer system 400 is illustrated, the term “system” shallalso be taken to include any collection of systems or sub-systems thatindividually or jointly execute a set, or multiple sets, of instructionsto perform one or more computer functions.

As illustrated in FIG. 4 , the computer system 400 may include aprocessor 402, e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphicsprocessing unit (GPU), or both. The processor 402 may be a component ina variety of systems. For example, the processor 402 may be part of astandard personal computer or a workstation. The processor 402 may beone or more general processors, digital signal processors, applicationspecific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, servers,networks, digital circuits, analog circuits, combinations thereof, orother now known or later developed devices for analyzing and processingdata. The processor 402 may implement a software program, such as codegenerated manually (i.e., programmed).

The computer system 400 may include a memory 404 that can communicatevia a bus 408. The memory 404 may be a main memory, a static memory, ora dynamic memory. The memory 404 may include, but is not limited tocomputer readable storage media such as various types of volatile andnon-volatile storage media, including but not limited to random accessmemory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electricallyprogrammable read-only memory, electrically erasable read-only memory,flash memory, magnetic tape or disk, optical media and the like. In oneembodiment, the memory 404 includes a cache or random access memory forthe processor 402. In alternative embodiments, the memory 404 isseparate from the processor 402, such as a cache memory of a processor,the system memory, or other memory. The memory 404 may be an externalstorage device or database for storing data. Examples include a harddrive, compact disc (“CD”), digital video disc (“DVD”), memory card,memory stick, floppy disc, universal serial bus (“USB”) memory device,or any other device operative to store data. The memory 404 is operableto store instructions executable by the processor 402. The functions,acts or tasks illustrated in the figures or described herein may beperformed by the programmed processor 402 executing the instructions 412stored in the memory 404. The functions, acts or tasks are independentof the particular type of instructions set, storage media, processor orprocessing strategy and may be performed by software, hardware,integrated circuits, firm-ware, micro-code and the like, operating aloneor in combination. Likewise, processing strategies may includemultiprocessing, multitasking, parallel processing and the like.

As shown, the computer system 400 may further include a display unit414, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light emittingdiode (OLED), a flat panel display, a solid state display, a cathode raytube (CRT), a projector, a printer or other now known or later developeddisplay device for outputting determined information. The display 414may act as an interface for the user to see the functioning of theprocessor 402, or specifically as an interface with the software storedin the memory 404 or in the drive unit 406.

Additionally, the computer system 400 may include an input device 416configured to allow a user to interact with any of the components ofsystem 400. The input device 416 may be a number pad, a keyboard, or acursor control device, such as a mouse, or a joystick, touch screendisplay, remote control or any other device operative to interact withthe system 400.

In a particular embodiment, as depicted in FIG. 4 , the computer system400 may also include a disk or optical drive unit 406. The disk driveunit 406 may include a computer-readable medium 410 in which one or moresets of instructions 412, e.g. software, can be embedded. Further, theinstructions 412 may embody one or more of the methods or logic asdescribed herein. In a particular embodiment, the instructions 412 mayreside completely, or at least partially, within the memory 404 and/orwithin the processor 402 during execution by the computer system 400.The memory 404 and the processor 402 also may include computer-readablemedia as discussed above.

The present disclosure contemplates a computer-readable medium thatincludes instructions 412 or receives and executes instructions 412responsive to a propagated signal, so that a device connected to anetwork 420 can communicate voice, video, audio, images or any otherdata over the network 420. Further, the instructions 412 may betransmitted or received over the network 420 via a communicationinterface 418. The communication interface 418 may be a part of theprocessor 402 or may be a separate component. The communicationinterface 418 may be created in software or may be a physical connectionin hardware. The communication interface 418 is configured to connectwith a network 420, external media, the display 414, or any othercomponents in system 400, or combinations thereof. The connection withthe network 420 may be a physical connection, such as a wired Ethernetconnection or may be established wirelessly as discussed below.Likewise, the additional connections with other components of the system400 may be physical connections or may be established wirelessly. In anembodiment, the communication interface 418 may be configured tocommunicate electronic message packets through the network 420 to acommon destination.

The network 420 may include wired networks, wireless networks, orcombinations thereof. The wireless network may be a cellular telephonenetwork, an 802.11, 802.16, 802.20, or WiMax network. Further, thenetwork 420 may be a public network, such as the Internet, a privatenetwork, such as an intranet, or combinations thereof, and may utilize avariety of networking protocols now available or later developedincluding, but not limited to TCP/IP based networking protocols.

Embodiments of the subject matter and the functional operationsdescribed in this specification can be implemented in digital electroniccircuitry, or in computer software, firmware, or hardware, including thestructures disclosed in this specification and their structuralequivalents, or in combinations of one or more of them. Embodiments ofthe subject matter described in this specification can be implemented asone or more computer program products, i.e., one or more modules ofcomputer program instructions encoded on a computer readable medium forexecution by, or to control the operation of, data processing apparatus.While the computer-readable medium is shown to be a single medium, theterm “computer-readable medium” includes a single medium or multiplemedia, such as a centralized or distributed database, and/or associatedcaches and servers that store one or more sets of instructions. The term“computer-readable medium” shall also include any medium that is capableof storing, encoding or carrying a set of instructions for execution bya processor or that cause a computer system to perform any one or moreof the methods or operations disclosed herein. The computer readablemedium can be a machine-readable storage device, a machine-readablestorage substrate, a memory device, or a combination of one or more ofthem. The term “data processing apparatus” encompasses all apparatus,devices, and machines for processing data, including by way of example aprogrammable processor, a computer, or multiple processors or computers.The apparatus can include, in addition to hardware, code that creates anexecution environment for the computer program in question, e.g., codethat constitutes processor firmware, a protocol stack, a databasemanagement system, an operating system, or a combination of one or moreof them.

In a particular non-limiting, exemplary embodiment, thecomputer-readable medium can include a solid-state memory such as amemory card or other package that houses one or more non-volatileread-only memories. Further, the computer-readable medium can be arandom access memory or other volatile re-writable memory. Additionally,the computer-readable medium can include a magneto-optical or opticalmedium, such as a disk or tapes or other storage device to capturecarrier wave signals such as a signal communicated over a transmissionmedium. A digital file attachment to an e-mail or other self-containedinformation archive or set of archives may be considered a distributionmedium that is a tangible storage medium. Accordingly, the disclosure isconsidered to include any one or more of a computer-readable medium or adistribution medium and other equivalents and successor media, in whichdata or instructions may be stored.

In an alternative embodiment, dedicated hardware implementations, suchas application specific integrated circuits, programmable logic arraysand other hardware devices, can be constructed to implement one or moreof the methods described herein. Applications that may include theapparatus and systems of various embodiments can broadly include avariety of electronic and computer systems. One or more embodimentsdescribed herein may implement functions using two or more specificinterconnected hardware modules or devices with related control and datasignals that can be communicated between and through the modules, or asportions of an application-specific integrated circuit. Accordingly, thepresent system encompasses software, firmware, and hardwareimplementations.

In accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure, themethods described herein may be implemented by software programsexecutable by a computer system. Further, in an exemplary, non-limitedembodiment, implementations can include distributed processing,component/object distributed processing, and parallel processing.Alternatively, virtual computer system processing can be constructed toimplement one or more of the methods or functionality as describedherein.

Although the present specification describes components and functionsthat may be implemented in particular embodiments with reference toparticular standards and protocols, the invention is not limited to suchstandards and protocols. For example, standards for Internet and otherpacket switched network transmission (e.g., TCP/IP, UDP/IP, HTML, HTTP,HTTPS) represent examples of the state of the art. Such standards areperiodically superseded by faster or more efficient equivalents havingessentially the same functions. Accordingly, replacement standards andprotocols having the same or similar functions as those disclosed hereinare considered equivalents thereof.

A computer program (also known as a program, software, softwareapplication, script, or code) can be written in any form of programminglanguage, including compiled or interpreted languages, and it can bedeployed in any form, including as a standalone program or as a module,component, subroutine, or other unit suitable for use in a computingenvironment. A computer program does not necessarily correspond to afile in a file system. A program can be stored in a portion of a filethat holds other programs or data (e.g., one or more scripts stored in amarkup language document), in a single file dedicated to the program inquestion, or in multiple coordinated files (e.g., files that store oneor more modules, sub programs, or portions of code). A computer programcan be deployed to be executed on one computer or on multiple computersthat are located at one site or distributed across multiple sites andinterconnected by a communication network.

The processes and logic flows described in this specification can beperformed by one or more programmable processors executing one or morecomputer programs to perform functions by operating on input data andgenerating output. The processes and logic flows can also be performedby, and apparatus can also be implemented as, special purpose logiccircuitry, e.g., a reconfigurable logic device or an ASIC (applicationspecific integrated circuit). As used herein, the terms “microprocessor”or “general-purpose processor” (“GPP”) may refer to a hardware devicethat fetches instructions and data from a memory or storage device andexecutes those instructions (for example, an Intel Xeon processor or anAMD Opteron processor) to then, for example, process the data inaccordance therewith. The term “reconfigurable logic” may refer to anylogic technology whose form and function can be significantly altered(i.e., reconfigured) in the field post-manufacture as opposed to amicroprocessor, whose function can change post-manufacture, e.g. viacomputer executable software code, but whose form, e.g. thearrangement/layout and interconnection of logical structures, is fixedat manufacture. The term “software” will refer to data processingfunctionality that is deployed on a GPP. The term “firmware” will referto data processing functionality that is deployed on reconfigurablelogic. One example of a reconfigurable logic is a field programmablegate array (“FPGA”) which is a reconfigurable integrated circuit. AnFPGA may contain programmable logic components called “logic blocks”,and a hierarchy of reconfigurable interconnects that allow the blocks tobe “wired together”—somewhat like many (changeable) logic gates that canbe inter-wired in (many) different configurations. Logic blocks may beconfigured to perform complex combinatorial functions, or merely simplelogic gates like AND, OR, NOT and XOR. An FPGA may further includememory elements, which may be simple flip-flops or more complete blocksof memory. In an embodiment, the deterministic message processor 220shown in FIG. 2A may be implemented using an FPGA or an ASIC. Forexample, the packet order determining 256 and/or the packet processing258 may be implemented as an FPGA. In an embodiment, both the packetorder determining 256 and the packet processing 258 may be implementedusing the same FPGA.

Processors suitable for the execution of a computer program include, byway of example, both general and special purpose microprocessors, andanyone or more processors of any kind of digital computer. Generally, aprocessor will receive instructions and data from a read only memory ora random access memory or both. The essential elements of a computer area processor for performing instructions and one or more memory devicesfor storing instructions and data. Generally, a computer will alsoinclude, or be operatively coupled to receive data from or transfer datato, or both, one or more mass storage devices for storing data, e.g.,magnetic, magneto optical disks, or optical disks. However, a computerneed not have such devices. Moreover, a computer can be embedded inanother device, e.g., a mobile telephone, a personal digital assistant(PDA), a mobile audio player, a Global Positioning System (GPS)receiver, to name just a few. Computer readable media suitable forstoring computer program instructions and data include all forms ofnon-volatile memory, media and memory devices, including by way ofexample semiconductor memory devices, e.g., EPROM, EEPROM, and flashmemory devices; magnetic disks, e.g., internal hard disks or removabledisks; magneto optical disks; and CD ROM and DVD-ROM disks. Theprocessor and the memory can be supplemented by, or incorporated in,special purpose logic circuitry.

To provide for interaction with a user, embodiments of the subjectmatter described in this specification can be implemented on a devicehaving a display, e.g., a CRT (cathode ray tube) or LCD (liquid crystaldisplay) monitor, for displaying information to the user and a keyboardand a pointing device, e.g., a mouse or a trackball, by which the usercan provide input to the computer. Other kinds of devices can be used toprovide for interaction with a user as well; for example, feedbackprovided to the user can be any form of sensory feedback, e.g., visualfeedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback; and input from theuser can be received in any form, including acoustic, speech, or tactileinput.

Embodiments of the subject matter described in this specification can beimplemented in a computing system that includes a back end component,e.g., as a data server, or that includes a middleware component, e.g.,an application server, or that includes a front end component, e.g., aclient computer having a graphical user interface or a Web browserthrough which a user can interact with an implementation of the subjectmatter described in this specification, or any combination of one ormore such back end, middleware, or front end components. The componentsof the system can be interconnected by any form or medium of digitaldata communication, e.g., a communication network. Examples ofcommunication networks include a local area network (“LAN”) and a widearea network (“WAN”), e.g., the Internet.

The computing system can include clients and servers. A client andserver are generally remote from each other and typically interactthrough a communication network. The relationship of client and serverarises by virtue of computer programs running on the respectivecomputers and having a client-server relationship to each other.

The illustrations of the embodiments described herein are intended toprovide a general understanding of the structure of the variousembodiments. The illustrations are not intended to serve as a completedescription of all of the elements and features of apparatus and systemsthat utilize the structures or methods described herein. Many otherembodiments may be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewingthe disclosure. Other embodiments may be utilized and derived from thedisclosure, such that structural and logical substitutions and changesmay be made without departing from the scope of the disclosure.Additionally, the illustrations are merely representational and may notbe drawn to scale. Certain proportions within the illustrations may beexaggerated, while other proportions may be minimized. Accordingly, thedisclosure and the figures are to be regarded as illustrative ratherthan restrictive.

While this specification contains many specifics, these should not beconstrued as limitations on the scope of the invention or of what may beclaimed, but rather as descriptions of features specific to particularembodiments of the invention. Certain features that are described inthis specification in the context of separate embodiments can also beimplemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, variousfeatures that are described in the context of a single embodiment canalso be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in anysuitable sub-combination. Moreover, although features may be describedabove as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed assuch, one or more features from a claimed combination can in some casesbe excised from the combination, and the claimed combination may bedirected to a sub-combination or variation of a sub-combination.

Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings and describedherein in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiringthat such operations be performed in the particular order shown or insequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, toachieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking andparallel processing may be advantageous. Moreover, the separation ofvarious system components in the embodiments described above should notbe understood as requiring such separation in all embodiments, and itshould be understood that the described program components and systemscan generally be integrated together in a single software product orpackaged into multiple software products.

One or more embodiments of the disclosure may be referred to herein,individually and/or collectively, by the term “invention” merely forconvenience and without intending to voluntarily limit the scope of thisapplication to any particular invention or inventive concept. Moreover,although specific embodiments have been illustrated and describedherein, it should be appreciated that any subsequent arrangementdesigned to achieve the same or similar purpose may be substituted forthe specific embodiments shown. This disclosure is intended to cover anyand all subsequent adaptations or variations of various embodiments.Combinations of the above embodiments, and other embodiments notspecifically described herein, will be apparent to those of skill in theart upon reviewing the description.

The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R. §1.72(b) and is submitted with the understanding that it will not be usedto interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition,in the foregoing Detailed Description, various features may be groupedtogether or described in a single embodiment for the purpose ofstreamlining the disclosure. This disclosure is not to be interpreted asreflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments require morefeatures than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as thefollowing claims reflect, inventive subject matter may be directed toless than all of the features of any of the disclosed embodiments. Thus,the following claims are incorporated into the Detailed Description,with each claim standing on its own as defining separately claimedsubject matter.

It is therefore intended that the foregoing detailed description beregarded as illustrative rather than limiting, and that it be understoodthat it is the following claims, including all equivalents, that areintended to define the spirit and scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer implemented method comprising:receiving, by a specifically configured processor via an electroniccommunications system coupled therewith, an electronic message generatedby a market participant of a set of market participants; determining, bythe processor, whether the received electronic message is solicited whenit is responsive to another electronic message previously communicatedto the market participant, or otherwise unsolicited; transmitting,automatically by the processor via the electronic communications systemwhen the received electronic message is unsolicited, the receivedelectronic message to all other market participants of the set of marketparticipants; and transmitting, automatically by the processor via theelectronic communications system when the received electronic message issolicited, the received electronic message exclusively to the marketparticipant of the set of market participants who generated the otherelectronic message to which the received electronic message isresponsive; and wherein the unsolicited electronic message comprises anoffer of a transaction characterized by a proposed one or more terms andsubsequent solicited electronic messages comprise one of an acceptanceof the transaction or a counter offer characterized by modifications tothe one or more terms, the method further comprising determining, by theprocessor, when one of the subsequent solicited messages comprises anacceptance to the transaction and further determining, by the processor,the one or more terms, and, based thereon, automatically generating, bythe processor, an electronic transaction message to an electronicmarketplace coupled with the processor to complete the transaction inaccordance with the one or more terms.
 2. The computer implementedmethod of claim 1, wherein the offer is limited to transaction for aparticular product.
 3. The computer implemented method of claim 1,wherein the unsolicited electronic message is received from theelectronic marketplace.
 4. The computer implemented method of claim 1,wherein the unsolicited electronic message relates to an offer to buy orsell a product in the electronic marketplace communicated to the set ofmarket participants, at least one of the subsequent solicited electronicmessages comprising a response to the offer to buy or sell from one ofthe set of market participants.
 5. The computer implemented method ofclaim 4, wherein the unsolicited electronic message was generated inresponse to a selection of the offer to buy or sell the product via auser interface of the electronic marketplace presented to the marketparticipant, the unsolicited electronic message comprising datadescriptive of the offer to buy or sell the product including a priceassociated with the product at a time of generation of the electronicmessage.
 6. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein theunsolicited electronic message comprising the acceptance includesactionable data that when activated is configured to execute an actionin the electronic marketplace.
 7. The computer implemented method ofclaim 6, wherein the actionable data is configured to cause anacceptance of the offer to buy or sell the product in the electronicmarketplace.
 8. The computer implemented method of claim 1, furthercomprising: storing, by the processor in a memory coupled therewith,data indicative of the market participants to which each electronicmessage was communicated and when the electronic message wascommunicated thereto.
 9. The computer implemented method of claim 1,further comprising: preventing, by the processor, any of the set ofmarket participants, determined to not be receiving communications ofelectronic messages via the electronic communications system for aperiod of time, from subsequently accessing any electronic messagescommunicated via the electronic communications system during that periodof time.
 10. A system comprising: a processor; and computer executableinstructions stored in a memory coupled with the processor that whenexecuted by the processor, cause the processor to: receive, via anelectronic communications system coupled therewith, an electronicmessage generated by a market participant of a set of marketparticipants; determine, whether the received electronic message issolicited when it is responsive to another electronic message previouslycommunicated to the market participant, or otherwise unsolicited;transmit, automatically via the electronic communications system whenthe received electronic message is unsolicited, the received electronicmessage to all other market participants of the set of marketparticipants; and transmit, automatically via the electroniccommunications system when the received electronic message is solicited,the received electronic message exclusively to the market participant ofthe set of market participants who generated the other electronicmessage to which the received electronic message is responsive; andwherein the unsolicited electronic message comprises an offer of atransaction characterized by a proposed one or more terms and subsequentsolicited electronic messages comprise one of an acceptance of thetransaction or a counter offer characterized by modifications to the oneor more terms, determine when one of the subsequent solicited messagescomprises an acceptance to the transaction and further determine the oneor more terms, and, based thereon, automatically generate an electronictransaction message to an electronic marketplace coupled with theprocessor to complete the transaction in accordance with the one or moreterms.
 11. The system of claim 10, wherein the offer is limited totransaction for a particular product.
 12. The system of claim 10,wherein the unsolicited electronic message is received from theelectronic marketplace.
 13. The system of claim 10, wherein theunsolicited electronic message relates to an offer to buy or sell aproduct in the electronic marketplace communicated to the set of marketparticipants, at least one of the subsequent solicited electronicmessages comprising a response to the offer to buy or sell from one ofthe set of market participants.
 14. The system of claim 14, wherein theunsolicited electronic message was generated in response to a selectionof the offer to buy or sell the product via a user interface of theelectronic marketplace presented to the market participant, theunsolicited electronic message comprising data descriptive of the offerto buy or sell the product including a price associated with the productat a time of generation of the electronic message.
 15. The system ofclaim 10, wherein the unsolicited electronic message comprising theacceptance includes actionable data that when activated is configured toexecute an action in the electronic marketplace.
 16. The system of claim15, wherein the actionable data is configured to cause an acceptance ofthe offer to buy or sell the product in the electronic marketplace. 17.The system of claim 10, further comprising: storing, by the processor ina memory coupled therewith, data indicative of the market participantsto which each electronic message was communicated and when theelectronic message was communicated thereto.
 18. The system of claim 10,further comprising: preventing, by the processor, any of the set ofmarket participants, determined to not be receiving communications ofelectronic messages via the electronic communications system for aperiod of time, from subsequently accessing any electronic messagescommunicated via the electronic communications system during that periodof time.
 19. A system comprising: a first logic stored in a memory andconfigured to be executed by a processor to cause the system to receive,via an electronic communications system coupled therewith, an electronicmessage generated by a market participant of a set of marketparticipants; a second logic stored in the memory and configured to beexecuted by the processor to cause the system to determine, whether thereceived electronic message is solicited when it is responsive toanother electronic message previously communicated to the marketparticipant, or otherwise unsolicited; a third logic stored in thememory and configured to be executed by the processor to cause thesystem to transmit, automatically via the electronic communicationssystem when the received electronic message is unsolicited, the receivedelectronic message to all other market participants of the set of marketparticipants; and a fourth logic stored in the memory and configured tobe executed by the processor to cause the system to transmit,automatically via the electronic communications system when the receivedelectronic message is solicited, the received electronic messageexclusively to the market participant of the set of market participantswho generated the other electronic message to which the receivedelectronic message is responsive; and a fifth logic stored in the memoryand configured to be executed by the processor to cause the system to,wherein the unsolicited electronic message comprises an offer of atransaction characterized by a proposed one or more terms and subsequentsolicited electronic messages comprise one of an acceptance of thetransaction or a counter offer characterized by modifications to the oneor more terms, determine when one of the subsequent solicited messagescomprises an acceptance to the transaction and further determine the oneor more terms, and, based thereon, automatically generate an electronictransaction message to an electronic marketplace coupled with theprocessor to complete the transaction in accordance with the one or moreterms.
 20. The system of claim 19, wherein the unsolicited electronicmessage is received from the electronic marketplace.
 21. The system ofclaim 19, wherein the unsolicited electronic message comprising theacceptance includes actionable data that when activated is configured toexecute an action in the electronic marketplace.